Patent · US Expired

Monitoring the threshold voltage of frequently read cells

US7193901B2 · kind B2 · utility

81Cited by
2References
25Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateApr 13, 2005
Grant dateMar 20, 2007
Priority date
Expiry dateApr 21, 2025

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG11C16/3427
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A canary cell may be used in a semiconductor memory to indicate an incipient failure. For example, the canary cell may be provided on rows in a flash memory. Before a read disturb occurs, the canary cell may first sense the condition, for example, because it may be biased with a higher drain bias and is, therefore, more susceptible to the read disturb problem.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.